Ezra's Choice
by Spectre6
Summary: When The Emperor offers Ezra a chance to be with his parents, Ezra must make the most difficult choice - which family to be with. Ezrabine/Kanera mentions. One-shot.


**Author's note:** Hello again! Ezra is my favorite character, so the scene where he could go to his parents really got to me. However, I felt it was glossed over too quickly, and the emotions one would feel for that scenario weren't accurately portrayed. Thus, this is my attempt. I'm not a fan of copy and pasting from the show to a story, so this will have slight alterations to the interactions between the two. Ezrabine/Kanera mentions.

As usual, constructive criticism is welcome.

May The Force Be With You,

Garyn

When Ezra was lead to the Emperor, he expected to see the same face he saw in the in-between worlds. Instead, he saw a normal looking male who was older, but nothing to the extent of an Emperor. Sith tricks, Ezra thought. Staring at the man who caused all these problems made Ezra nervous. Try as he might to not be, Ezra was a bit scared deep down.

The Emperor stared at the Jedi with glee. The terrorist, the traitor, and enemy of the Sith was helpless before him. Had he been able to, Sidious would've struck the boy down immediately. "Ezra Bridger, one of the very few who has managed to elude my Jedi hunters. I must apologize for not being there in person. As I'm sure you understand, I have duties to keep up with." Sidious approached slowly, looking over at the boy. "For Darth Vader to fail at catching you and your master says a lot." _Considering Vader was once the most powerful Jedi._

Ezra couldn't retain a smirk. "Evil will always fail. You can kill me, but another Jedi will rise. Another will defy you."

Sidious extended his hand, constricting Ezra's airway. "Just because I am not there doesn't mean you're free from my wrath." Sidious boomed, and released Ezra.

Ezra gasped, clutching his throat as he worked to calm his breathing. "Why am I here if you're not going to kill me?" He asked, curiously.

Sidious laughed. "You're not here to die, Jedi." Sidious turned around towards the Jedi temple he had reconstructed. "You are here to get what you've always wanted." Sidious extended his arm towards the temple as a way of telling Ezra to look.

Ezra cautiously walked towards the temple, keeping an eye on Sidious in the process.

 _"Ezra!"_

Ezra's heart stopped, and he froze in place at the voice. It was a voice he hadn't heard in years, a voice that once sang songs to help him sleep at night. A voice that once soothed him and made him feel comfortable. A voice he longed for.

"Mom?" Ezra shook off his shock, taking several steps forward. There, inside the temple was not only his mother, his father!

 _"Ezra, come on for dinner!" His father yelled. He smiled at his wife, rolling his eyes. "That boy always takes his time."_

This wasn't possible! This was some type of illusion! Ezra spun on his heels to face Sidious, his face seething in anger. "What kind of sorcery are you pulling?"

Sidious had held a smirk on his face up until Bridger faced him. "You saw what happened between worlds. You have the power to change any point in time. Go with your parents now, and you'll live the happy life with your family you always desired." _You will also never be a threat to my Empire._ Sidious thought. He had seen multiple outcomes, but never knew which would happen. Ezra Bridger becoming a Jedi was the one he tried to prevent and failed.

"No, this is still a trick!" Ezra argued, not believing.

 _"Ezra Bridger!" His mother yelled, her voice slightly more firm. "Come down here and eat with us!"_

Ezra turned back to the portal. The Force was powerful, but was it powerful enough for this? "What about my friends? What will happen to them?"

Sidious was becoming a bit impatient. He had hoped the boy would mindlessly run to be with his parents. "It's not important. What is important is that you get what you've always wanted."

Ezra stared at the portal, taking in the features of his parents. He hadn't forgotten them, but it was different being an adult and looking at them, and truly admiring the parts of his parents that he'd gotten. It was at that moment, as he admired his father, both his parents turned to face him. Ezra's mouth dropped, his eyes going wide as it felt like they were staring at him, as if they knew he was there and watching. Staring into his mother's eyes nearly made Ezra break down and cry. His mother had nothing but love radiating from her, and his father's look said Ezra was in trouble if he didn't come down. These were looks Ezra dreamed of seeing again, looks he missed and craved. Children generally hate being in trouble by their parents, but Ezra would give anything to have his mother and father scolding him again. He'd give anything to be put in time out, to have his hand smacked, to be told he needs to do better.

Ezra fell to his knees, pain, anger and grief overcoming him. If Sidious had been here, Ezra most likely would've attacked him. Sidious had put him in a predicament that he thought was impossible: Choosing between families. If he went to his parents, what would happen? Would he of ceased to exist completely to the Ghost crew? Would they not even know his name? Would he forget about them? The thought made Ezra nauseous. The Ghost crew had become his family, even the bucket of bolts Chopper. He couldn't just throw them away! but what about his blood family? How could he say no to getting a second chance with them? At the same time, how could he throw away everything the Ghost crew had done? They saved many of lives, and helped the Rebellion to have a fighting chance. Hell, Hera had become a huge part of the Rebellion. Wouldn't all that be erased? Wait, Kanan! Wouldn't Kanan be alive if he did this? The idea of Kanan still being alive brought some hope to Ezra, but again, what would be the point if he didn't even know who they were? They had done so much, and Ezra had done what his parents had hoped - stand up to the Empire and give thousands, if not millions, hope. Hope was what the galaxy needed, and that hope would be gone if Ezra chose his parents over the galaxy.

It wasn't just the galaxy, though. Ezra was thinking about everyone else, but his thoughts drifted to the Ghost crew. They had been through so much together and were as much of a family as could be. Zeb was a completely different species, yet he was still Ezra's brother. In the beginning, Ezra and Zeb complained about each other, but in time, they grew close and formed a brotherly bond. Hera, oh Force, Hera truly was the best. She cared so much, and had been the replacement mother Ezra needed. She had a temper if you crossed her, but Hera was a sweet and gentle soul. Many of things could be said about Kanan. Went from a drunk nobody to the leader of a successful Rebel cell - A cell that has caused much trouble for the Empire, and the hero of Lothal, sacrificing his life for them. It wasn't easy to see when he first joined, but the longer he was with the crew, the more he saw how Hera and Kanan acted around each other. Since Ezra had been so uneducated about life, he hadn't realized it was love. It was only as he got older and through his own love for someone that he fully understood the relationship Hera and Kanan had. Chopper taught Ezra, albeit unintentionally, that droids are not just droids. They have their own unique personalities, sometimes to the point of forgetting they are droids. Chopper was a true testament to this. The little droid constantly played pranks and mouthed off, but when things were serious, you could always count on him. Not to mention the bucket heads he's either killed or incapacitated. Last, but not least, Sabine Wren. The fiery, feisty bombshell that seemed to turn heads wherever she went. The funny thing about Sabine was, it didn't matter what planet you were on, you always knew who Sabine was because of her colorful armor. This girl had swooned Ezra from day one, albeit she hated it. At first. Over time, Ezra and Sabine had become as close as possible. They always fought together, and were paired together for almost all missions. They were best friends, and Ezra loved her to death. He always thought she would never be interested, but it became very obvious to him she has begun to feel the same. He was so close to her, to all of the Ghost crew. He couldn't throw it all away.

With tears in his eyes, and his heart full of pain, Ezra stood up, and turned to the portal. "Mom, dad. I'd give anything to see you again, but I've accomplished so much, and have done what you would've wanted. I've helped free many, and will continue to do so until every last Imperial has fallen. I've spent the better part of my life with my new family, people who adopted me into their small circle and have made my life better. You will always be my parents, but Kanan and Hera helped me as parents would. They are as much my parents as you, and..we may of lost Kanan, but we still have Hera. Mom, I wish you could've met her. Hera is a strong woman with a gentle, motherly soul. I know you'd of loved her. Dad, Kanan helped me to mature and learn my powers better than anyone else. Despite his past, he still played the role of a father better than I could've asked. He taught me about doing good and making sacrifices." Ezra wiped a tear away, laughing. "I wish both of you could see your son's first true love, my best friend Sabine. I hate to jinx it, but pretty sure she loves me. I..I'm nervous, but I plan to..."

Sidious had initially let him rant, assuming he was giving some goodbye speech. It was clear to him this wasn't the case. "We don't have time! The portal will close. Go and be with your family, there's no other choice!"

"If I do ever have a family, I hope I can be as good of parents as you both were. I love you." With that, Ezra extended his arms and used the Force to bring down the makeshift temple. Turning on his heel, Ezra ran as fast as he could, going right through Sidious's hologram, which seemed to be switching images. Not that Ezra had time to look. With the collapse getting closer, Ezra jumped away, landing a few feet away from the door that left the room. Standing up, Ezra stared at the rubble.

 _I'm sorry._


End file.
